"Åsa Eriksson" > wrote in message
...
> When I have travelled in the far east (China etc) I have eaten fantastic
> seafood sauces- but it is hard to find them in any cookbook. Anyone have
> any
> suggestions?
> /Amazonica

there's lots, any coastal or even inland water areas have fish/seafood
dishes, where do you want start? the Far East is a big place. Feshness of
fish/seafood is very important & i think that's where some of the tastes
comes from in any good sauces. You've probably seen fish swimming in tanks
at restautrants there or freshly caught & cooked, not like what we get in
the west, frozen or on ice. This is a very large area of discussion, if you
could specify that would be easier. But as a start... here's a simple
recipe.

steamed seabass.
1 medium fresh seabass, gutted, cleaned & scaled (leave head & all
fins/tails on) place the fish on a plate & cut a thumbsize ginger into fine
shreds & place under fish, inside stomach cavity & on top of fish.
You will need a wok or pot big enough to take the plate inside, fill the wok
or pot with 1 inch of water & place a trivet or a small tin/can with the top
& bottom removed so it looks like a ring. Cover the wok or pot & bring it to
a rapid boil. Once boiling, carefully place the plate with seabass inside &
cover immediately. Continue to boil on high heat for 5mins then bring it
down to simmer for another 5 mins. In the meantime, take a rice bowl & pour
in 2tsp rice wine, 2tbsp light soy sauce, a little salt & sugar & mix. Next
finely slice a few spring onions & set aside. Next pour in 2-3 tbsp veg. oil
into a small sauce pan & gently heat it. When the fish is done (5mins high
heat + 5mins simmering - you will have to experiment with steaming at home,
it's an art that takes time), turn the heat up on the 2-3 tbsp of oil & very
very quickly remove the fish plate from the steamer & pour away some of the
excess water in the plate but not all of it, fish juices are tasty! quickly
throw the sliced spring onions over & pour the soy sauce marinade over the
seabass & finally pour over the 2-3 tbsp of hot smoking oil all over the
fish. The oil should be very hot & you should hear it *sear* or even
*crackle* as it hits the steamed seabass. The smell & aroma will tell you if
you've done it right or not ; ) Alternatively go & buy a bottle of LeeKumKee
seafood marinade, it's the same as above but use it carefully. The last
bottle i had over specified the amount to use!

Another tip - some seafood sauces use dried shrimps & scallops rehydrated in
hot water, this gives it a strong seafood taste. If you can imagine sundried
tomatoes or dried mushrooms, once rehydrated the flavours are stronger, same
thing but that's another post ; )

DC.